b. 1940, Arkansas, USA
First Nations Affiliation:  Cherokee

Born into a family of carvers and political activists, multidisciplinary artist Jimmie Durham also performed, wrote, and edited poetry in Houston, Texas in the late sixties. Upon completing a degree in sculpture at Geneva's École des Beaux-Arts in 1972, Durham worked full-time for the American Indian Movement, serving as head of the International Indian Treaty Committee at the United Nations (leading to the drafting of the International Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples). As part of a first generation of contemporary artists working in elite high art contexts, Durham's contribution has been compounded by his activities and lucidity as a writer, editor (Art and Artists Newspaper, 1982-86), and critic. Durham currently lives and works in Europe.

R E C E N T   E X H I B I T I O N S

S E L E C T E D   B I B L I O G R P H Y

Bhabha, Homi K. "Beyond the pale: Art in the age of multicultural translation." Kunst & Museum Journaal 5, no. 4 (1994): 15-23.

Brentano, Robyn, and Olivia Georgia. Outside the Frame: Performance Art and the Object. Ohio: Cleveland Center for Contemporary Art, 1994.

Canning, Susan. "Jimmie Durham." The New Art Examiner 23, no. 2 (1995): 39-40.

Cardinal-Schubert, Joane. "In the red." In Borrowed Power: Essays on Cultural Appropriation, eds. Bruce Ziff and Pratima V. Rao, 122-133. New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 1997.

Carlos, Isabel. "Jimmie Durham modulo." Flash Art 28, no. 184 (1995): 124.

Caseley, Jonathon, Karin M. Higa, and Pamela M. Lee. Souvenirs of Site-Seeing: Travel and Tourism in Contemporary Art. New York: Whitney Museum of American Art, 1991.

Cassagnau, Pascale. "Jimmie Durham; Calais, Vienna, Reims." Art Press 214 (1996): 68-69.

Churchill, Ward. From a Native Son: Selected Essays in Indigenism, 1985-1995. With an introduction by Howard Zinn. Boston, Massachusetts: South End Press, 1996.

Churchill, Ward. Indians are Us? Culture and Genocide in Native North America. Toronto: Between the Lines, 1994.

Duncan, Ann. "Native artists are central to Savoir-Vivre exhibit." The (Montréal) Gazette, 29 September 1990, p. I.

Durham, Jimmie. "Artist's project." Blocnotes 8 (1995): 12-13.

Durham, Jimmie. "Attending to words and bones: An interview with Jean Fisher." Art and Design 10, nos. 7-8 (1995): 47-55.

Durham, Jimmie. "The centre of the world is several places (Part I)." Interview by Beverly Koski and Richard William Hill (Berlin, February 1998). FUSE Magazine 21, no. 3 (Summer 1998): 24-33.

Durham, Jimmie. A Certain Lack of Coherence: Writings on Art and Cultural Politics. Edited by Jean Fisher. London: Kala Press, 1993.

Durham, Jimmie. Columbus Day. Albuquerque, New Mexico: West End Press, 1993.

Durham, Jimmie. "On the edge of town." Art Journal 51, no. 2 (1992): 14-16.

Durham, Jimmie. "Geronimo!" In Partial Recall: Photos of Native North Americans, edited by Lucy R. Lippard, 55-58. New York: The New Press, 1992.

Durham, Jimmie. Marginal Recession: An Installation by Edward Poitras. Regina, Saskatchewan: Dunlop Art Gallery, 1994.

Durham, Jimmie, Jean-Pierre Rehm, and Denys Zachropoulos. Eurasian Project, Stage One: La porte de l’Europe (Les Bourgeois de Calais, La Leon d’Anatomie. A Progress Report). Champagne-Ardenne, Calais, et Anvers: Le College Editions, Galerie de l’Ancienne Poste, Galerie Micheline Szwajcer, 1996.

Feaver, William. "Chasing the Cherokee tail." The Observer, 9 January 1994, p. 9.

Fisher, Jean, ed. Global Visions: Towards a New Internationalism in the Visual Arts. London : Kala Press in association with the Institute of International Visual Arts, 1994. [This publication brings together the papers delivered at the conference entitled A new internationalism, the first conference of the Institute of International Visual Arts held at the Tate Gallery in London on 27 and 28 April 1994]

Fisher, Jean. Ni’Go Tlung A Doh Ka. New York: State University of New York (SUNY), 1986.[Translation: We are always turning around on purpose]

Gisbourne, Mark. "Interview at the ICA." Art Monthly 173 (1994): 7-11.

Lepage, Jocelyn. "Quand l'art se fait humaniste." La Presse, 8 September 1990, D14-15.

Levin, Kim. "Jimmie Durham." The Village Voice 37, no. 48 (1 December 1992): 65.

Lippard, Lucy R. Mixed Blessings: New Art in a Multi-cultural America. New York: Pantheon, 1993.

McMaster, Gerald. "Desperately seeking identity in the space of the other." In Edward Poitras: Canada XLVI Biennale di Venezia, 21-38. Hull, Québec: Canadian Museum of Civilization, 1995.

Mulvey, Laura, Dirk Snauwert, Mark Alice Grant, and Jimmie Durham. Jimmie Durham. London, United Kingdom: Phaidon, 1995.

Nemiroff, Diana, Robert Houle, and Charlotte Townsend-Gault. Land, Spirit, Power: First Nations at the National Gallery of Canada. Ottawa, Ontario: National Gallery of Canada, 1992.

Pakasaar, Helga, Deborah Doxtater, Jean Fisher, and Rick Hill. Revisions. Banff, Alberta: Walter Phillips Gallery, Banff Centre, 1992.

Papastergiadis, Nikos. "Metaphor: The energy for beginning." Art & Design 9, nos. 7/8 (1994): 19-25.

Rickard, Jolene. "Sovereignty: A line in the sand." Art and Design 10, nos. 7/8 (1995): 50-54.

Ryan, Allan J. "Postmodern parody: A political strategy in contemporary Canadian Native art." Art Journal 51, no. 3 (1992): 59-65.

Sangster, Gary, et al. States of Loss: Migration, Displacement, Colonialism, and Power. New Jersey: Jersey City Museum, 1994.

Shiff, Richard. "The necessity of Jimmie Durham's jokes." Art Journal 51, no. 3 (1992): 74-80.

Smith, Roberta. "The subversive stitch." The New York Times, 12 July 1991, C23.

Smith, Roberta. "At the Whitney, a biennial with a social conscience." The New York Times, 5 March 1993, p. C1, C27.

Walkingstick, Kay. "Indian arts and crafts act: Counterpoint." Akwe:kon Journal 11, nos. 3-4 (1994): 115-17.